Peanut butter hummus, roast peppers and walnut sauce, roasted egg plant with tahini sauce and pomegranate, Moroccan style millets and lentils. According to Natasha Celmi, a culinary enthusiast who started the gelato chain Mama Mia in 2005, these Mediterranean small plates can be quickly rustled up at home with local ingredients.
“At my upcoming workshop, the focus is on Mediterranean flavours,” says Natasha. “I’ll use local vegetables. The semolina sweet potato fries has an innovative touch to it. It is an Italian dish in which polenta is used. Instead of polenta (an Italian flour made from corn), I use semolina.
Apart from recipes, Natasha will also demonstrate how to plate food attractively. “I am a food stylist as well, so that is another component in my workshop,” she says.
With so many chefs conducting cooking workshops in Bengaluru, what sets Natasha’s apart? “I create quick, easy recipes. These days people don’t have time to cook. We also tend to think of cooking as a chore. In my workshops, I aim to make cooking a fun family activity. My personal style is international. I don’t teach recipes but general concepts of international cuisines. Given the trend of working women and mums, I also teach domestic staff to cook wholesome international meals as the current generation does not want dal-chawal everyday! Being a working mum with two children myself, I don’t believe that one has to toil in the kitchen all day,” she adds.
Natasha started her career as a gelato chef. “I had attended various courses in Tuscany and Southern Italy. I learnt to make Gelato in a factory in Italy in a small town called Bergamo, near Milan. After returning to India, I started Mama Mia. I was 22 then,” she adds.
Natasha speaks about venturing into cookery workshops. “Mama Mia grew into a full chain. I sold the company in 2013. After the birth of my two children, I started cooking a lot at home. My husband is Italian and a great cook. I learnt home-style cooking from him. I was in Singapore between 2013 and 2017 and attended culinary courses there too. The way I learn is through eating different kinds of food, and then I try to put the recipe together in my head,” she says.
Natasha moved back to Bengaluru in 2017. “I started doing catering on a small scale from home. Sharing my passion for food gives me satisfaction. There are modern Indians who wanted to learn how to make the food they eat out and abroad, and that is how I started.” The 36-year-old insists cooking is not rocket science. “In my workshops, I emphasise on using the oven. I propagate roasting vegetables. That way flavour and nutrients are retained.”
Natasha started her YouTube channel six months ago. “I carry the same philosophy online, of quick and easy international recipes using local ingredients. The channel, Cucina Mia by Natasha makes it easy for people who cannot come to my workshop.”
Mediterranean Small Plates will be held on April 24, 4 pm at Happy Healthy Me, Indiranagar. It is priced at â‚ą2000 per head. For details, call: 9830708456.